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Essay / Messianic in Specters of Marx by Jaques Derrida
In Specters of Marx, Jaques Derrida presents a major theme of his argument, messianism, and is interested in describing the issues surrounding messianism. These questions go hand in hand with the critical features of Marxist theory. According to Derrida, “messianism” takes up the basic configuration of religious messianic thought, but there also exists “a messianism without religion” (74). Derrida shares his view that a Messiah is a promise, a hope and an aspiration for something to come, but not that the Messiah will actually come. If the Messiah comes and there is an end, where is the mystery once it is revealed? There is a lack of a defined horizon or final expectation in Derrida's messianism. Among the many visions of messianism that he chooses to deconstruct, he considers that the original messianic concept containing religious connotations is based on a defined end as well as an understanding of time. Besides the themes of justice, disjunction and especially the understanding of the spectrum, Derrida's messianism forms an overall idea of his belief on Marxism and its impact on politics and religion. He further describes his understanding of messianism in this passage: "The effectiveness or actuality of the democratic promise, like that of the communist promise, will always keep in itself, and it must do so, this absolutely indeterminate messianic hope in its heart, this eschatological relationship [for example, a relationship to the final coming of Christ, or to the final event] to the coming of an event and a singularity, an otherness which cannot be anticipated” (81 ). Derrida asserts that a deconstructed version of Marxist thought is still relevant in today's world despite its globalization. He does both politics...... middle of paper...... and the dead without coming into contact with what exists in between. That which is both present and absent appears as the Messiah at every moment and yet at no moment in particular. There is constantly something “out of order” as well as a constant human struggle to improve this disjunction. Whether it is an attempt to segment time or assign rights and laws to achieve justice, what exists in disjunction cannot be subject to definitive deconstruction. As such, messianism cannot be constrained to anything with definitive definitions of time or justice. The composition of messianism and our existence allows the arrival of an untouchable and unknown other. The messianic means our existence as constant expectation. It is an endless expectation and acceptance of a future that can never be limited by the meanings we give to that conceivable future...